Looming delay spells uncertain future for 'Tokyo 2020' merchandise

FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walks past Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games mascot Miraitowa and Paralympic mascot Someity plushies at a building in Tokyo, Japan March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Vendors of a vast array of Tokyo 2020-themed trinkets are looking to cash in from a looming postponement of the Games, because of a global coronavirus pandemic, by marketing their items as emblems of something that never happened instead.

Branded items, from $6 pin badges to $15,000 pieces of gold are on offer to enthusiasts, but as the Games shape up as the first since World War Two not to go ahead as planned, sellers are seizing on the disruption to boost demand.